List of the Best Free PHP IDE & PHP Code Editors with Features, Comparison & Pricing. Also, Learn the Differences & Similarities Between PHP IDE And Editors:
PHP IDE helps developers to write, run and execute the PHP code. PHP editors help developers while writing code by Highlighting syntax, Auto-completion, and Indentation.
If you are new to PHP development, then you can try the free or online PHP editor and IDE. There are many free tools that offer good features. In this tutorial, we will explore commercial as well as free tools.
Table of Contents:
PHP IDE Vs PHP Code Editors
PHP IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
IDE (Integrated Development Environment) saves a lot of time. Almost every IDE includes a code editor. With the help of IDE, developers can debug the code with breakpoints or step through. Many IDEs have theme selection feature which helps developers during syntax highlighting, keyword highlighting, etc.
IDE has more functionalities than code editors. But IDE is more complex than code editors. The selection of one out of the two depends on personal choice and requirements. Here, we will also see the difference between the two.
PHP Online Editor
With the help of online PHP editors, you can write and execute the code online and you will not have to care about the environment setup.
These online editors support basic and advanced programming. Online PHP Editors provides code sharing and version control functionalities. It also provides many more features like auto-completion and advanced support for the PHP framework.
Differences And Similarities Between IDE And Code Editor
| IDE | Code Editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Function | Write, Compile, and Execute code. | Write code |
| Features | It will have features for writing and debugging. It contains features like debugging with breakpoints etc. | It contains features and functions which will help developers in writing code. |
| Programming languages | Generally supports one language. | It supports multiple languages. |
| Compiler & Debugger | Present | Absent |
| Auto-completion | Yes | Yes |
| Syntax Highlighting | Yes | Yes |
| Guidance | Yes | Yes |
While selecting the PHP IDE you must consider your requirements, budget, your experience with PHP, and the features provided by the IDE.
Some PHP IDE supports only PHP language whereas some support multiple languages.
| Best free PHP IDE | Best Commercial PHP IDE | Best PHP IDE for Mac | Best PHP IDE for Windows | Best PHP IDE for Linux | Best PHP Online Editors | Best commercial PHP editors | Best Free PHP editors. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eclipse PDT | PHPStorm | Eclipse PDT | Eclipse PDT | Eclipse PDT | PHP-Fiddle | Sublime Text | Blue-fish |
| Aptana Studio | Zend Studio | Adobe Dream-weaver | PHP Designer | Aptana Studio | Write-PHP-Online | Text-Wrangler | Code-Lite |
| PHP Designer | Komodo IDE | - | Adobe Dream-weaver | - | PHP-anywhere | UltraEdit | Geany |
| NuSphere PhpED | - | - | - | - | Write Code Online | CodeEnvy | Vim |
| Code-lobster | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Top PHP IDEs
Enlisted below are the top PHP IDEs along with their features.
- NetBeans PHP IDE
- PHPStorm
- Zend Studio
- Komodo IDE
- Cloud 9
Comparison Table For PHP IDE And Code Editors
| Code Editor Features | Supported Languages | Supported Platform | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NetBeans PHP IDE | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Hinting Mapping File Compare | PHP, Java, JavaScript, HTML5, C, C++, and many others. | Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris | Free |
| PHP Storm | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Hinting Refactoring Mapping File Compare | PHP, CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. | Windows, Mac, Linux. | For Individual users: $89 For Organizations: $199 |
| Zend Studio | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Hinting Refactoring Mapping File Compare | PHP | Windows, Linux, Mac, IBM I | Commercial use: $189 Personal use: $89 |
| Komodo IDE | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Hinting Refactoring Mapping File Compare | PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl, SQL, CSS, HTML, XML, and Smarty. | Windows, Linux, Mac. | For Single user: $394 For 5 licenses: $1675 For a Team (20+): Contact them |
| Cloud 9 IDE | Auto-completion Highlighting Refactoring Hinting | Node.js, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, and C++ | Cloud-based | Price depends on the usage. It starts at $1.85 per month. |
| Komodo Edit | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Hinting Refactoring Mapping File Compare | PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, SQL, CSS, HTML, and XML. | Windows, Linux, Mac | Free |
| Codeanywhere | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding File Compare | JavaScript, PHP, HTML, and many other languages. | Cross-platform | Free to start with. Starter: $2 per user Freelancer: $7 per user Professional: $20 per user Business: $40 per user. |
| RJ TextEd | Auto-completion Highlighting Folding Mapping Advance sorting | PHP, ASP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. | Windows | Free |
| Notepad++ | Auto-completion Highlighting Multi-View Zoom-in & Zoom-out Macro recording | PHP JavaScript HTML CSS | Windows Linux UNIX Mac OS (Using a third-party tool) | Free |
| Atom | Auto-completion File Compare Find and Replace Multiple panes | Supports many languages. | Windows Linux Mac OS | Free |
#1) NetBeans PHP IDE
NetBeans IDE can be used on desktops and mobiles. Previous versions of NetBeans IDE are available only for Java. But now it supports many other languages too. It is a popular tool among developers because of the features offered and it is an open-source tool as well.
Features:
- The debugger allows you to debug web pages and scripts locally and remotely.
- NetBeans IDE provides continuous integration support.
- It provides support for PHP 5.6.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris.
Supported Languages: PHP, Java, JavaScript, HTML5, C, C++, and many others.
Cost Details: Free
Official website: Net Beans
#2) PHP Storm
PHPStorm is developed by JetBrains. It is an IDE for PHP and provides an editor for other languages too. It is a commercial tool.
Features:
- Code assistance even while working with databases and SQL.
- Auto completion & Syntax highlighting.
- Easy code navigation.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Supported Languages: PHP code editor is for PHP, CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
Cost Details:
- For Individual users: $89 for one year, $71 for the second year, and $53 from there onwards.
- For Organizations: $199 for the first year, $159 for the second year, and $119 from there onwards.
Official website: PHP Storm
#3) Zend Studio
Zend Studio is a PHP IDE that helps in developing PHP applications and deploying them on a server with cloud support.
Features:
- Supports the development of mobile apps for your existing PHP applications.
- It provides built-in deployment functionality to deploy applications in the cloud.
- Code editor provides many features like Refactoring, Auto-completion, etc.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, and IBM I.
Supported Languages: PHP
Cost Details:
- For Commercial use: $189 with one year of free upgrades.
- For Personal use: $89 with one year of free upgrades.
Official website: Zend Studio
#4) Komodo IDE
Komodo IDE supports many languages. It provides many features too. It offers functionalities for development teams. It is an extensible system through add-ons.
Features:
- Auto-completion & Refactoring features for the code editor.
- Visual Debugger.
- Workflow management.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Supported Languages: PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl, SQL, CSS, HTML, XML, and Smarty.
Cost Details:
- For Single-user: $394
- For 5 licenses: $1675
- For a Team (20+): Contact them.
Official website: Komodo IDE
#5) Cloud 9 IDE
Cloud 9 IDE is an online service provided by Amazon for writing, running, and debugging code. You can work together with the team and can share your code easily.
Features:
- Auto-completion and guidance for the code.
- Step-through debugging.
- Helps in building serverless applications.
Supported Platforms: Cloud-based
Supported Languages: Node.js, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, and C++.
Cost Details: Price depends on usage. It starts at $1.85 per month.
Official website: Cloud 9
Top PHP Code Editors
- Komodo Edit
- Codeanywhere
- RJ TextEd
- Notepad++
- Atom
- Visual Studio Code
- Sublime Text
#1) Komodo Edit
Komodo Edit is a free code editor for multiple languages. It can be customized using Mozilla Add-ons.
Features:
- It supports multiple languages.
- It tracks changes.
- It supports multiple selections.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Supported Languages: PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, SQL, CSS, HTML, and XML.
Cost Details: Free
Official website: Komodo Edit
#2) Codeanywhere
Codeanywhere is an IDE that will help you to write and run the code for web and mobile applications.
Features:
- It supports remote connection for code editing.
- It provides a built-in terminal.
- It saves revisions.
Supported Platforms: Cross-platform
Supported Languages: JavaScript, PHP, HTML, and many other languages.
Cost Details:
It includes five plans.
- Free to start with.
- Starter: $2 per user
- Freelancer: $7 per user
- Professional: $20 per user
- Business: $40 per user.
Official Website: Codeanywhere
#3) RJ TextEd
It is a text and code editor. It will help in web development. It provides a variety of features for text and source code editing like Spelling check and Syntax highlighting.
Features:
- It has features like Auto-completion, Code folding, and Annotation.
- It supports multi-select and multi-edit functionalities.
- It supports Unicode.
Supported Platforms: Windows
Supported Languages: PHP, ASP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
Cost Details: Free
Official website: RJ TextEd
#4) Notepad++
Notepad++ is an easy-to-use text and source code editor for Windows, Linux, and UNIX. Using a third-party tool it can be used on Mac as well.
#5) Atom
Atom is developed by GitHub. This open-source text and source code editor can be used as an IDE. Atom supports multiple languages and can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
#6) Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code supports multiple languages, but mostly it is used for ASP.Net and C#. It is an open-source tool. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
#7) Sublime Text
Sublime Text is an easy-to-use text and source code editor. It supports many languages. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Conclusion
NetBeans is a very popular PHP IDE among developers. Other popular IDEs include Komodo IDE, Zend Studio, Cloud 9 IDE, and PHPStorm. These four are commercial PHP IDEs.
For PHP editors, Komodo Edit offers really good features and also supports multiple languages. Codeanywhere is a commercial code editor and RJ TextEd is a PHP code editor for windows only.
Suggested reading =>> PHP Vs Python – Main Differences
=> Contact us to suggest a listing here.